Uncoventional Step
by klutzysunshine
Summary: Future fic. Riley is caught off guard when Maya proposes ... because they're not together.


**I don't own Girl Meets World and never will. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

Riley blinks for a few seconds, trying to process what her best friend has just asked her. But she still can't believe those words even came out of Maya's mouth. "What?" she asks just to make sure.

A smiling Maya laughs. "I just proposed to you, Riley. Didn't you get that? Or do I shake you to the core or something?" She's scared shitless, however, and is both dreading and is excited to hear her answer.

Riley stares in confusion. "Why? What? We're not even together, Maya. You're my best friend but that doesn't mean we should get married." She doesn't understand the turn this conversation took at all and is still trying to come to terms with it.

"I love you," Maya answers as if it's obvious. Maybe it is to her.

Riley is floundering and they both know it. She struggles to come up with the adequate words to express herself but is failing. She finally settles on, "I love you too. But that doesn't mean we should get married. This doesn't make any sense!"

Maya shakes her head in frustration. "No, you don't understand. I'm in love with you, Riley and I have been for a long time. I was in denial until a conversation with Farkle of all people yesterday. He convinced me to tell you but I don't think he figured I'd do this. Fuck, why I am doing this? Anyway, you have an answer yet or what?" Now she's panicking and floundering herself.

"This is a lot of information to get in such a short period of time, Maya! I'm trying to figure this out." Riley bites her lips and bursts into tears, which sets off Maya.

"I didn't mean to make you cry," she sobs, suddenly wishing she had kept her mouth shut. Why had she been so stupid as to listen to Farkle? She was going to kick his ass for this next time she saw him (which will hopefully be soon).

"It's okay, don't worry about it. Can I think about this for a little while? I just need some time to think." Riley hiccups and wishes she could go back to being blissfully unaware and naïve. That was so much better.

Maya is convinced she's ruined everything now and tries not to fall into the old habit of self-loathing. But she holds onto the fleeting hope that Riley not rejecting her means there's a chance. She has to look on the bright side for once – Riley and Cory taught her that. "That's fine with me. We'll meet up later?"

"You better have a ring," Riley jokes before literally smacking her forehead. Why did she say that? Why is she falling apart right now? Damn it, she needs to pull herself together so she doesn't break down like this again.

Despite her clear distress, Maya laughs. "Never change, Riley". And then she turns and proceeds to bolt out of the apartment before her best friend can say something else. She doesn't know what to do next, afraid she's ruined her relationship with her best friend and will never be able to see her or Cory, Topanga, and Auggie again. These people are her family and she put those relationships in jeopardy because of a whim. She needs to think before she acts.

Riley finally sits down on the couch and tries to slow down her breathing so she can finally stop crying. She loves Maya with all her heart, but does she love her best friend like Maya loves her? She has no fucking clue at all and it's bothering her. She needs to talk to someone about this – like her dad – but Riley really doesn't want to. She can figure this out on her own (hopefully) without any outside help. She knows they'd be supportive but that's the last thing she needs right now, oddly enough. "Come on, Riley, try to figure this out." But it doesn't last long and she starts crying again. Lying down on the couch, Riley stares at the ceiling until she sobs herself to sleep.

* * *

Maya bangs on Farkle's door frantically until he opens it and then glares so she doesn't punch him. "What happened?" her friend inquires.

"I told Riley how I felt about her."

Farkle's heart breaks for her. "And she rejected you? I'm sorry, Maya." He urges her to come in and they stand there because she doesn't want to sit.

"I proposed to her and she didn't give me an answer."

Farkle can't believe those words even came out of Maya's mouth. "Why would you do that? Maya, baby steps! Baby steps are important. You two aren't even a couple and you want to marry her? You can't drop a bomb on someone – even your best friend – like that and expect an answer right away. How'd she react?" He should have realized earlier that Maya would do something like this and wishes he could go back in time (why hasn't his father invented that technology yet?) and tell her this.

"I know! I'm an idiot and I've probably lost my best friend and family because of this and nothing's ever going to be the same again." She starts crying and doesn't even protest when Farkle pulls her in for a hug.

"This is nice," he murmurs.

She smacks him on the shoulder. "Don't be so gross, Farkle."

"At least I made you feel something other than despair, right? No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you, Maya. You don't have to freak out."

She wipes the tears off her face and smiles. "Thanks, Farkle. I'm going home now and try not to think about the mess I created."

"Call me later," Farkle urges. He's definitely worried about her and what's going to happen next. He hopes Maya and Riley can work this out.

As soon as Maya steps into her apartment and closes the door, she slides down to the floor and starts sobbing, cursing herself for the colossal mistake she just committed.

* * *

When Riley awakens, it's with some clarity. Her minds wanders to all the time she's spent with Maya over their long friendship and she knows what her answer is. A smile lights up her face and she laughs. How was she so oblivious as to not realize sooner that she's in love with her best friend, the woman who's been by her side through everything? Maybe they have been together for years and neither realized it or wanted to act on it. But that's about to change, because Riley Matthews is going to marry Maya Hart and hopefully they'll spend the rest of their lives together. She sends a quick text to Maya and waits for her best friend to show up.

Maya just opens the door and tentatively walks in once she finally arrives. She stares Riley in the face as she awaits judgment. "I assume you wanted to reject me in person."

Riley just laughs and shrugs. "You thought wrong. Maya, we know each everything about each other. We've spent nearly every waking moment of our lives together and know everything about each other. And yeah, I know we're skipping a couple of steps that we should probably fix before the wedding but I'm saying yes."

Now it's Maya's turn to blink at her in shock. "Did you just say yes?"

Riley nods and feels lighter than she has in a long time. "I did. How are you feeling about that?"

Maya chokes on a sob and can't find the words to come up with a response. She sputters a few times before finally responding. "This is sappy and never tell anyone because it's cliché as fuck – I blame your parents for this – but I feel like I'm walking on air."

"Now kiss me, let's get an engagement ring, and go out on our first date," a smiling Riley orders right before Maya kisses her.

They spring apart when the door opens and Cory and Topanga enter. Topanga squeals. "I can't say I'm surprised this finally happened," she explains when the three of them stare at her.

"About time you two realized how you felt. How long has this been going on?" asks Cory.

"A few hours," Riley responds. She's giving Maya the chance to drop the bomb on her parents.

"I asked her to marry me and she said yes!" Maya cries. She enjoys the dual looks of shock that flash across their faces.

"You've only been together a few hours and you're already engaged?" Topanga can't explain why she isn't more shocked.

"We skipped a few steps," Riley tells her mother. Her grin gives away her happiness, and neither Cory nor Topanga can deny their daughter that.

"Well, can I plan the wedding at least? I can help!" Cory wants to make sure his daughters (and yes, Maya is their daughter too) have the best damn wedding New York's ever seen.

"Uh, maybe?" Riley answers. She looks to her mother for help but Topanga just shrugs.

That night, Riley and Maya finally go out on their first official date. They might have gotten engaged at warp speed but both realize they have plenty of time to plan their wedding (with Cory's help, of course). And they want it to be amazing.


End file.
